Fuck off, mein Fuhrer!

Stirling Castle is a striking, man made addition to an already formidable natural fortress. Sheer cliffs thrust up from the rolling Scottish Lowlands. The thick castle walls extend these solid quartz-dolerite foundations towards the sky. It is imposing and seems impregnable. It probably was, at least until Warwolf came to visit. In 1304, Stirling Castle was the last Scottish holdout to the English invasion. Edward I of England had lived up to […]

Until 1983, no television was broadcast in July in Iceland. It took until 1987 for broadcasts to be made on Thursdays on state broadcaster RÚV (European Journalism Centre); Drury Lane Theatre was destroyed six times by rioting in the turbulent 18th century (British Library); and Heroine was produced in the laboratories of Bayer. One story of how it got its name was that the head of Bayer’s research department based it on the German […]

On Sunday, Greeks will go to the polls to vote in a crucial referendum. The politics are fraught, the media is frenzied and accusations and recriminations are already flying. The ballot paper has attracted plenty of attention, both inside and outside of Greece. The question is detailed and, to eyes that are unaccustomed to non-Roman alphabets, impenetrable. Some commentators have pointed out that the ‘no’ option is given first. It made me […]

Sovereign debt default was a lot more common when it was literally sovereigns defaulting. Kings liked money. They didn’t like paying it back. So, quite often, they didn’t. In the richest economies, default has become rare. One of the reasons the Greek financial crisis is dominating headlines and moving markets around the world is the rarity of a rich country failing to pay back the IMF. But back in the nineteenth century, […]

On 12 May 1937, Westminster Abbey rang with shouts acclaiming the new King-Emperor. In 1936, Britain had prepared for the coronation. Much of this effort was wasted when Edward VIII abdicated on 10 December 1936. Everyone had been getting ready for the coronation that never was. The Coronation of a new King-Emperor promised a bonanza for British manufacturers. Factories that had been quiet during the darkest days of the Great Depression now hummed with […]

So, that was that. Few pundits or pollsters showered themselves in glory. How did I do? Not very well! More Mystic Meg than Nostradamus. The Conservatives will win the most MPs, but will fall far short of a majority. The Conservatives did win the most MPs, but they also won a majority. The Conservatives will win 290 seats with a share of the vote above 34%. The Conservatives won 331 seats. Their 36.9% share […]